NU (NYSE:NU) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of NU (NYSE:NU) in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $19.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NU. Itau BBA Securities cut shares of NU from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of NU from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of NU from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $19.00 price objective on shares of NU in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of NU from $16.90 to $18.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NU presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.02.

NU Stock Performance

NU opened at $12.24 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.87. NU has a 52-week low of $11.20 and a 52-week high of $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.94.

NU (NYSE:NU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter. NU had a return on equity of 31.59% and a net margin of 18.65%.The firm had revenue of $5.88 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NU will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NU declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at NU

In related news, CEO Cristina Junqueira sold 65,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.71, for a total transaction of $956,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,542,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,394,040.93. The trade was a 2.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Henrique Camossa Sald Fragelli sold 221,707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total value of $3,505,187.67. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 979,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,485,041.26. This trade represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 361,707 shares of company stock valued at $5,626,338 over the last quarter.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NU

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NU during the 2nd quarter worth about $316,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NU by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 19,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 3,883 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden grew its stake in NU by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 2,736,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,562,000 after buying an additional 411,500 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in NU by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 201,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 4,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in NU by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 83,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 8,880 shares during the period. 84.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NU News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NU this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating on Nu Holdings and maintained a $19 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Analyst Kyle Peterson said the selloff related to acquisition reports could create a buying opportunity for long-term investors. Needham says buy NU stock as it sinks on acquisition reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports indicate Nu is exploring a potential purchase of Monzo for approximately £8 billion to £10 billion, or about $13 billion. The discussions are reportedly preliminary, and no transaction has been announced. Nu in talks to buy Monzo in £8B-£10B deal
• Negative Sentiment: Investors appear concerned that a Monzo acquisition could require significant capital and bring execution, valuation, and integration risks. The reports prompted Nu Holdings to underperform the broader market as shareholders assessed whether the potential deal would enhance growth or dilute returns. Nu stock slips as $13 billion Monzo buyout talks emerge
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage attributed Nu’s weakness to the Monzo reports, with the stock declining more than the overall market during the latest session. Nu Holdings declines more than market

About NU

Nu Holdings Ltd., operating under the Nubank brand, is a digital financial services company that provides banking and payment products primarily through mobile applications. The company offers digital accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payment services, investment products and insurance, serving consumers and small businesses.

Nubank was founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible with the goal of expanding access to simpler, lower-cost financial services through technology.